


Propositions and Proposals

by akirerae (rerae)



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, I gave myself second hand embarrassment writing this thing, Zuko is just an awkward child ok, Zutara Month
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-10
Updated: 2017-01-10
Packaged: 2018-09-16 17:13:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9281726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rerae/pseuds/akirerae
Summary: Zuko is horrible with words and Katara is at the receiving end of the worst marriage proposal ever.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to finally participate a *Insert Ship Name Here* Month/Week! This is for the prompts "Partners" and "Snowed In." Thanks Del for beta. Any other mistakes just contests to my inability to catch typos and to understand the English language.

"I- I have... I have a proposition to make."

Katara slowly lowered the ladle she was planning on smacking Zuko with- _Fire Lord title be damned_ \- and returned her attention back to her stew.

For the past twenty minutes, the man was bustling with enough restless energy to put Aang to shame. During the first five minutes, he nearly formed a trench with his incessant pacing. Then, after Katara scathingly asked him to spare her floor, he offered to quicken the cooking process by strengthening the flames. When Katara kindly declined (since Gran-Gran's recipe specifically called for the stew to boil over _low_ heat), he finally seated himself but unfortunately, Katara's relief was short lived.

It was exactly two seconds into the newly found silence that Zuko began tapping his fingers against his thigh and when that failed to do anything, he started tapping his boot. And if that wasn't enough, for some strange reason, words seemed to die off his tongue the second he opened his mouth.

Katara was beginning to lose track how many times this happened.

Therefore, no matter how clumsy the execution, the sentence he just uttered came as a relief. She was beginning to worry that between the blizzard outside, and the lack of activity he was doing inside, he had finally ceased to function.

After tapping the ladle once to the side of the cauldron and hanging it up until further use, she glanced over her shoulder and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the one whom the world called Fire Lord. The way his eyes darted all over the place, looking at everything else in the hut that wasn't her, strongly reminded her of the boy who could only remembered the punchline of one of his Uncle's jokes. His hands were clasped firmly in his lap and from the looks of how blue his face was, he seemed to stop breathing altogether.

"Yes Zuko?"

At her inquiry, he spluttered back to life. He regally coughed once into a fisted hand before repeating with far more (a gross overstatement to say the least, but Katara felt that she should give him at least some credit) confidence, "I have a proposition to make."

"So I heard the first time." Katara replied wryly as she wiped her hands on a damp towel, "I was actually asking you what the proposition is."

"Oh. Right." Zuko swallowed nervously and was suddenly very interested in an imaginary loose thread on the hem of his Water Tribe parka. "I-"

For whatever reason, that syllable alone seemed to strangle his throat and Katara had to hide a smile when he frowned at himself, clearly annoyed at his sudden inability to speak. She sat down on a low stool and crossed her hands in her lap, cocking her head slightly to the right as she waited.

She had a growing suspicion as to what exactly Zuko had been meaning to say for the past thirty minutes- if the stutter wasn't a dead give away, the formal way he phrased his sentences sure was- but she stilled her tongue. Katara told herself that she wanted to hear what he had to say using his own words, but to be quite honest, she quite enjoyed how, even after all these years, she still managed to fluster him.

"I-" The man in front of her drew in a deep breath and released steam from his nose. "I have a proposition to make. For you. I mean, to you. I mean-" He ran a hand through his hair, free of it's crown and top knot, and let out a frustrated breath of fire.

"It's for you."

Katara silently watched the flames flicker and die. He must be more nervous than she originally pegged him to be if he's correcting himself needlessly. And doing the breathing fire thing.

She took a quick glance at her stew- it was fine- and offered him an encouraging smile. "What is it, Zuko?"

"I..." Suddenly, the floor was a hundred times more interesting than anything he had ever seen in the world and when he finally spoke, it seemed like he physically had to push the words past his teeth. Even then, they came out just barely over a whisper, "I would like to propose a partnership."

"A partnership." Katara echoed dumbly. Okay. So it wasn't exactly the first thing she had in mind. "Aren't already we partners?"

Tui and La, Yue, and Painted Lady, if he said no, she will bend him right out of this hut, Fire Lord and storm be damned.

She watched with pleased amusement when Zuko shot upright and dug his fingers into his knees. He looked as though her words literally struck him. "Of course!" His stiff posture sagged as he lifted a hand and absentmindedly rubbed the place where the chest and torso met. "Of course we are..." he added softly.

Katara sucked in a breath so sharp she nearly choked on it.

"I- It's just that I would like to propose a-" Katara was beginning to think that Zuko deliberately used those specific words as a lifeline of sorts, and the next words he said were definitely uttered quickly so that he didn't have time to second guess himself, _"apoliticalpartnership."_

"...A political partnership."

At this point, Katara felt like a monkey parrot.

"Yes!" Zuko looked up at her with what seemed like relief, but the second he saw her face, said relief quickly died.

"I mean- yes? _No._ No?" Fire Lord Dorku Hotman began to fidget again. His eyes darted up nervously to meet hers and when he found that hers were still narrowed into slits, the dam broke.

"I mean a political partnership between the Fire Nation and the Southern Water Tribe can be highly beneficial to both parties." It sounded to Katara that he had planned this speech from the get go and now the nerves had him running off said speech on autopilot. "The Fire Nation still owes a lot in reparations to the Water Tribe for- well, a lot of stuff, and hey! What better way to pledge alliance and loyalty than offering the Fire Lord to the Water Tribe. In. Uh, formal partnership. I mean, I could ask someone else, but you already have a... an amazing hold on politics and negotiation, plus you already know how to deal with me when I'm in one of my- and this is quoting you by the way- my 'moods,' and Uncle thinks that we make a good match- His words, though, not mine. Crap. Not- Not that I don't think- I mean, I think we work..."

He wilted when he saw her rise to her feet and muttered weakly, "...pretty well together?"

By now, Katara was standing with her hands on her hips and looming over Zuko with near righteous fury. Or at least she wanted him to think that it was fury. She barely managed to keep the laugh out of her voice when she stated with firm conviction, "Zuko, this is by far the _worst_ marriage proposal in the history of marriage proposals."

The funny thing with Zuko was that when he blushed, it started at the base of his neck and spread like wildfire over his entire face in seconds flat. The apples of his cheeks and the tips of his ears got especially red. He spluttered indignantly and sprung to his feet, standing nose to nose with her.

Katara bit back a smile. This was more like it. Even if Flustered Zuko was her favorite.

"This- This isn't a marriage proposal! It's a proposal for a _political partnership!"_

"Same. Difference." Katara punctuated each word with a light tap to the chest. "It's just that you're using different wording. Plus, guess what Fire Lord? You're still proposing something."

 _"No."_ His golden eyes were smoldering, intense. She was about to quip about his lack of humor, but what he said next made the words die before she even opened her mouth. "No, Katara, it's not the same. Marriage. It- It's like _arranged marriages._ Ones you don't have a say in. And I'm not asking for a wife. I don't want what the council wants. Or what the Fire Sages want. Someone who's just some- some boring decoration! I'm asking for a _partner._ Someone who is my equal in every sense of the word."

Upon realizing that he probably said too much, his eyes softened and his lips quirked into that tiny half smile Katara came to be so fond of. "I mean, our formal partnership could be the ultimate symbol of peace between nations. Or something. People usually make a big deal of these things."

Zuko broke eye contact with her and blinked once at the cauldron. "I think the stew is burning." Before Katara could even turn around, he raised a hand and did a snuffing motion, "I put out the fire. Sorry. I must have ruined your stew. Sokka will be furious with me, huh?"

Katara bit her bottom lip and glanced back at Zuko. His eyes were downcast again. And this time, it wasn't from nervousness. When she still didn't say anything- and how could she? Her heart was doing a billion things all at once within the span of this conversation- he added softly, "You don't have to tell me now, Katara. You don't even have to say yes."

She squeezed her eyes shut and released an unsteady breath. Everything he didn't say aloud resounded in those words.

_It's your choice._

_You shouldn't feel obligated to do anything..._

_Least of all for me._

"How about _this?"_ She opened her eyes and leaned further into his space. "You don't always have to assume for the worst, Sifu Moodypants."

Zuko took a step back- probably to put some distance back between them- and frowned. "I'm not. You have every right to say no, Katara. I'm... I'm just asking for you to consider it. I'm not looking for an immediate answer."

"I know." Katara turned and walked back to the cauldron to hide her smile. She already made her decision the second she had her suspicions. "And my answer is _yes,_ Zuko. "

"Ka- What?"

"My answer. It's yes." She lifted the ladle from it's hook and brandished it at him with mock sternness, "And for the record, just because I said yes, doesn't mean that your proposal wasn't the worst proposal in the history of marriage proposals. I'm cooking! Who in their right mind proposes when someone is in the middle of _cooking?"_

Zuko opened and closed his mouth several times, looking very much a fish out of water. With a wry smirk, Katara added airily, "Honestly, I've received a lot of better ones," before spinning around to trend to her stew. "Can you put the fire back on please? Preferably low."

She could literally hear how the gears in his brain all but stopped. After two heartbeats, there was a soft _whoosh_ and the fire underneath her cauldron was lit again. Another heartbeat and there was suddenly an influx of steam followed by the tell-tale thud of boots that indicated his advance.

"Okay, first! It wasn't a marriage proposal. It's an offer for a long standing political partnership. One where we uhm, theoretically live. Together. And secondly, _who?!"_

"Not telling! I mean a girl has to have some secrets of her own, you know." Katara stirred the stew and took a quick sample.

Not enough salt... She reached for said condiment only to find that it wasn't there. Knowing the person responsible, she clicked her tongue and held out a hand. "Zuko, give it back."

"No. You make your food too salty. Anyway," he crossed his arms and glowered at her, "I implore you to answer the question."

Katara heaved an inaudible sigh and set the ladle down. So maybe she shouldn't have said that. He wasn't going to let this go anytime soon.

"Okay! All I'm going to say is that those proposals were _far_ more romantic than this one. This one didn't even end with a kiss!"

A scowl. "You've been reading too many romance scrolls."

"Maybe." She placed a hand on her hip and shot him a smug grin. "But you should be grateful that I tolerate you enough to even say yes."

Spirits, the way his features softened when he smiled like that should be illegal. It always did funny things to Katara's bodily functions and now wasn't any different.

Zuko took another step forward and by now they were so close, all one of them had to do was reach out. Her cheeks felt far too warm and she was beginning to suspect that the growing warmth of the room had something to do with his bending. As if this wasn't enough, he leaned down to press his forehead against her own. 

She nearly forgot to how breathe.

"Yeah." His voice was soft. Like he was telling her a secret. "I'm extremely grateful."

**Author's Note:**

> Confession time! First time writing Zutara let alone anything for ATLA so if anything seems OOC, please tell me so that I won't make the same mistake again. Also if you've made it this far, congrats! You read everything and I can't thank you enough.


End file.
